10-Year-Olds Apparently Swallowed Pills Boy Took From Mother

OXNARD —  School officials sent three 10-year-old boys to the hospital Friday after the children apparently swallowed prescription drugs one had pilfered from his mother’s purse.

Marina West School officials called for help just after 8 a.m. when the fifth- and sixth-graders from Oxnard and Port Hueneme complained of lethargy and admitted they had taken pills.

“From what I understood, one little boy brought mom’s medicine to school and he was telling the other little boys, ‘Close your eyes and I’ll give you candy,’ ” said school nurse Linda Butcher.

The drugs were sleeping pills known by the trademark Ambien and anti-depressants, Oxnard Police Department officials said.

Teachers who observed that the boys were groggy took them to the office just after school began, where administrators called paramedics.

All three felt faint and one complained of nausea and vomited, officials said.

“The good news was that they were breathing well,” Butcher said. “They weren’t having any apparent distress except they were becoming somewhat confused.”

The boys, whose names were not released, were treated at St. John’s Regional Medical Center. One of the youngsters was sent home, but district Supt. Richard Duarte declined to comment on the status of the other two.

“We heard that they are doing well, but that’s really all we can say at this point,” he said.

Meanwhile, students at Marina West were pulled into an assembly and told by administrators to be cautious with any strange substances. Duarte said the incident was the first he could recall of its kind in the district.

“We have a curriculum that counsels students about making good choices and we will be reviewing that curriculum and reinforcing that message,” Duarte said.

It is the second case of its kind in Southern California recently. On Sept. 23, three fourth-graders in Pacoima accidentally took LSD in liquid form, believing the label that identified it as a breath mint.

Parents should take a cue from the incident to teach children that even legal drugs can harm them, Butcher said.

“Children should understand the difference between taking medicine because they are ill versus trying to take medicine to make them feel funny,” she said.

Butcher, like other officials, can’t figure out what would have prompted the 10-year-olds to take such strong drugs. “I suppose he was curious just to see what was going to happen,” she said. Duarte said officials will begin meeting with the students and their parents to determine whether disciplinary action could be taken against the students.

One parent who declined to give her name said that although news of the incident shocked her, she isn’t sure what more administrators could do to prevent it from happening again.

“It’s really hard what kind of precautions to take with that,” the parent said. “You can’t search every kid.”